Where did the skirts go on these???

[Fanof49ASU]

I waited until my lights went off, and out they came! It didn't take long. Here's what I'm talking about.

 

[surfnvb7]

you can try to add a wrasse, not sure if it will help any. they are hit or miss.

IME, my clowns go hunting for pods and have pretty much whiped them out, or at least the easily accessible ones. thats prob b/c i dont feed them but once every couple of days. so they find their own food.

 

[Azurel]

I have had the same problems with pods.....I did add a Sixline and have noticed a drop in my red panaria worms but haven't looked at night to see any reduction of pods. I have witnessed the larger pods munching on new frags that are added before.

 

[SuperNerd]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8459379#post8459379 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Fanof49ASU
I waited until my lights went off, and out they came! It didn't take long. Here's what I'm talking about.

Interesting. Are you sure they're actually eating the zoas? I don't see any "damage" done to them...just seems like them scurrying over them and irritating them.

 

[SDguy]

I have pods like that running through my polyps at night. I see them running through acros too. But none seem affected. I did have some PE's die, and noticed lots of pods on them, but that's a chicken/egg argument. Frankly I think the PE's were declining first.

 

[Fanof49ASU]

Interesting. Are you sure they're actually eating the zoas? I don't see any "damage" done to them...just seems like them scurrying over them and irritating them. [/QUOTE]

No, I can't see them actually eating them.....though I have seen them picking at some openings.

 

[msman825]

I had them really bad in a 29g with know fish, my freind owned a pet store a gave me 4 big 6 lines, I added all at once. The pods were thinned out fast. took the 6lines back and got a couple flashers that call tank home now. I have even noticed hermits eatting dead stuff off newly shipped colonies

 

[speckled trout]

I hate to seem skeptical, but an extremely tiny organism "ripping" or "tearing" the skirt off a zoa sounds very improbable. Pods are known for scavenging and eating dead matter in aquariums, not for ravenously ripping and tearing apart corals.

How big are these "killer" pods? I've seen some decent sized pods, but none big or strong enough to damage zoas in the manner being described.

Also, damsals are about as reef safe as you can get. If one, for whatever reason, suddenly developed a taste for zoas I can tell you it wouldn't last long in my tank!

To me it just doesn't add up. There's got to be something else going on.

One last thing, none of the pics shown conclusively show zoas w/o skirts. They just look like zoas w/ their "skirt" withdrawn.

Whatever the reason, I hope you get it figured out so you can get back to enjoying your corals. Problems are always aggrevating, no matter what the reason.

Good luck-Mike

 

[Azurel]

Actully they do and have been seen eating polyp tenticles off zoas, yes they do scavange,eat algae, but they are also or can become meat eaters. Think about how many that there can be in a single aquarium. Not just the ones you see but ones hiding in every crevice and under rocks etc...... All fighting for food and resources along with other microfauna, it's not to far out of the realm of possibility that in the quest for food they begin to eat the skirts off zoas. They don't tear but eat much like a locust eats grass.

They attack the weakest part of the zoa, the skirts are the most vulnerable to shrimp in the quest for food....I have seen them wipe out small frags of Caribbeans in only a few nights, and these were not only the skirts gone, but the polyps themselves that were hollowed out.
I'm not saying it's common place but it does happen with an out of control population.

 

[Fanof49ASU]

Mike.....the skirts on my zoas are intack....at least until the entire polyp disappears. I tagged onto this thread due to suspicions about pods eating them.

There could be something else eating them, but after hours of watching in the dark, I've found nothing. I just don't know anymore. My zoa colonies are disappearing before my eyes.

 

[SuperNerd]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8468210#post8468210 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Fanof49ASU
I just don't know anymore. My zoa colonies are disappearing before my eyes.

Could it maybe be a disease then?

 

[Fanof49ASU]

I guess it could be.......but some full-sized polyps have literally disappeared overnight. This sounds more like a predator. Though, I do have others that will close up and keep getting smaller until their gone. That sounds more like a disease.

Do you have any links on zoa diseases of this sort?

 

[kryppy]

I have crazy thick pods and mysis in my groupers tank, since any fish I have ever put in there have become dinner and I have never
had a problem with the zoas in that tank. Once in a while, I see a paly snag and eat the poor pods.

 

[blackheart]

MY cleaner skunk shrimp tears pods up. If you are looking for a night hunter that will get rid of pods, also peperment would work.

They still however, will try and steal any food your palys catch.

 

[HBtank]

Omg. my tank is overun with these killer pods...


for some reason i don't care.